As
this blog approaches it’s ends I need to acknowledge the many people who have made
it possible.

Firstly,
a big thank you goes to the Meldrum and Bourtie Heritage Society (MBHS), who’s
work on the Battle of Barra 700th anniversary memorial, forms a
large part of this blog.

I
would like to especially thank Evelyn Munro, for providing pictures and
feedback on the progress of the memorial and coordinating with others to gather
information on various subjects.

John
Pirie was instrumental is providing information on the original location of
Bruce’s seat and locating it in the rock pile where it lay for over half a
century. Also, for his work on the memorial.

Doug
Smith for his work on the memorial and for providing details of the moving of
Sir Thomas and his lady from the kirk yard to its current location in Bourtie
Kirk.

Doug Smith with Sir Thomas and his Lady

Rev.
Hugh O’ Brien, of Meldrum and Bourtie parish, for taking the time to open the
church for me and allowing me to take pictures of Sir Thomas.

Rachel
Ann Dressler who provided information on the possible dating of Sir Thomas and
his lady.

Bob
Forsyth who provide the details of the Battle of Barra float, in the 1954
Meldrum sports.

Moira
Gregg for her Scottish Field article on the battle and providing the picture of
Wallace’s putting stone.

Rev.
Angus H. Haddow for detail of the Grenago Stane from his work,

“Dowsing
for Patterns of the Past – The Stone Circles of Aberdeenshire”.

The
following for pictures

Anne
Burgess – Elgin Castle.

Les
Harvey – Bruce Hill

Chris
Lodge – Aikey Brae Stone Circle.

Martyn
Gorman – Slains Castle

Keith
Kaase - Bust of Robert I.

Finally
a thank you to my wife Juliet who offered encouragement and support and
consented to be dragged around various sites, as I sought information or photographs,
when we were supposed to be on vacation.

The
Battle of Barra has tended to be a footnote in history, viewed as one small step
on the road to Bannockburn and ultimately independence, but I would contend
that is was a pivotal event in achieving Scottish independence.

Prior
to the 1307 campaign the Bruce cause was in tatters and no one could
realistically expect him to succeed, and although his fortunes improved during
1307, there were still several Scottish enemies who could probably individually
destroy his small force.

With
victory at Barra, he defeated the strongest of his Scottish enemies and went on
to destroy the Comyn powerbase in NE Scotland. Following this success, he went
on to destroy or neutralize his Scottish enemies, and within a year no Scottish
magnate had the power to resist him without English support.

Shortly
after Barra, he captured Aberdeen and its port which offered him access to Europe.
It was for several years the only major European trading port held by Bruce. (Dundee
1312; Perth 1312; Leith 1314; Berwick 1318). During these years Aberdeen would operate
as a base for commerce raiding (basically piracy) and trade with Europe.

Without
the victory at Barra it is unlikely that Aberdeen would have been taken and
access to the resources to support the war would have been near impossible to
obtain in the quantities required. (For more details see post)

There
is nothing visible today which can be directly linked to the battle, and the
actual site is a matter of conjecture, however that does not mean that there is
nothing to see.

With
that in mind, I would like to highlight seven locations which may be of
interest and have featured in the blog.

1: Bruce’s Field is by tradition the site of the battle, it is located to the left
of the main Inverurie to Oldmeldrum road (B1970), when travelling towards
Oldmeldrum.

There
is little to differentiate is from the adjoining fields and there is nothing to
see from the road. It can best be viewed from the top of Barra Hill, which can
be reached by the footpath between “Blankets” and Bourtie Kirk. (For precise details see below)

B:
Comyn’s camp, which is the same location as the hill fort, is by some
traditions where the Earl and his army camped the night before the battle.
However, there is no evidence to support these traditions.

C: Wallace’s putting stone, is a
large serpentine rock standing on Barra hill, which according to legend was
thrown by Wallace from Bennachie, into Comyn’s camp to aid the king’s army.

3:
Bourtie Kirk is the location of two stone figures, a knight and a lady, who are
associated with the legend of Thomas De Longueville. Legend has it that Sir
Thomas a companion of Robert I, was mortally wounded, and in true Robin Hood
fashion fired an arrow, to determine where he should be buried.

The
Kirk is not open to the public, but there are regular services. (See link
below)

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

As seen in an earlier post the
Comyns had prospered in the first three decades of the 13th century and
assumed a dominant position in Scottish affairs which would last until their
final defeat by Robert at Barra.http://barra1308.blogspot.com/2012/04/comyns-3.html

In
the coming years this dominance would be challenged by rivals, but the Comyn
party would work together to thwart the efforts of their various challengers.

When
William the Earl of Buchan died in 1233, his son Walter, Earl of Mentieth and
Lord of Badenoch, assumed the leadership and confronted the challenge from
their north eastern neighbors, the Bissets and the Durwards.

The
suspicious death of Patrick of Atholl in 1242, was the opportunity the Comyns
needed to attack their Bisset challengers who had been gaining more influence with the King (Alexander II). Walter and John Bisset were implicated in the death and
the Comyns, with the support of other nobles achieved the exile of the pair.
Fleeing to England the Bissets encouraged the interference of Henry III in the
affairs of Scotland, an unfortunate reality accepted by most in Scotland, but
which would lead to disaster before the end of the century.

At
the close of the reign of Alexander II, the Durwards rose to be the principle
advisers to the king, and on his sudden death they retained control during the
minority of Alexander III. The Comyns seized the young king and his queen taking
control of the government, forcing out the Durwards. The Durwards sought
Henry’s assistance, and again all were forced to accept his intervention. (It
should be noted that Alexanders queen was Henry’s daughter, and he did have
genuine concerns for her safety).

This
is the period in which the later chroniclers paint the Comyns as “over mighty
subjects”, but they were by then partisan Bruce/Stewart spin-doctors, and
sought to unfairly discredit the Comyns.

For
the remainder of Alexander III’s reign the Comyns were prominent in the affairs of
the realm, and on his untimely death were instrumental in stabilizing the situation
and provided two of the Guardians of the realm during the first interregnum.
(John II of Badenoch and Alexander Earl of Buchan).

Following
the death of Margaret, the heir to the throne, the Comyns supported the Balliol
claim, during the period of the “Great Cause”, in which Edward I was asked to
adjudicate the claimants to the throne,

However,
the Comyns also had a weak claim to the throne through Richard Comyn’s marriage
to Hextilda, the daughter of king Donald Ban. John II of Badenoch also had a
claim to the throne due to his marriage to Eleanor the sister of John Balliol,
but that claim would always be subservient to that of John Balliol and his descendants.

Edward
ruled in favor of John Balliol who became King of Scots, but Edward’s heavy-handed
approach eventually lead to war.

The
Comyns would consistently support the Scottish side during the war and John Comyn
III, co-led the Scottish victory at Roslin in 1303, but about a year later the Comyns
and the other Scottish magnates submitted to Edward, and it appeared the war
was finally over.

But,
two years later Robert the Bruce, murdered John Comyn, in Greyfriars church,
the pivotal event that led to Scottish independence and consigned the Comyns to
the historical dustbin.

Robert
after numerous setbacks, eventually crushed the Earl of Buchan at Barra, and
went on to totally destroy Comyn power.

It
is somewhat ironic that the Comyn family rose to power by crushing two campaigns,
launched from Moray, to seize the Scottish throne, but were themselves destroyed
by a third. Also, that the last senior male heir of the family, (John IV) who
had for a century defended the Scottish crown should be killed fighting on the
English side at Bannockburn.

Thursday, May 3, 2018

It
has been a long time since I posted, but with the 10th anniversary
of the unveiling of the Battle of Barra Memorial is coming up, I have decided
to close-out the blog and commemorate the anniversary.

Between
now and the 23rd of May, I plan to clean-up the blog, and make
around half a dozen new posts, with the final one on the 23rd May.